Guo Shaochun, center, head of a joint working group in charge of the missing Malaysia Airlines plane, speaks to journalists as he arrives at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang, Malaysia, Monday. The Associated Press

At a time when some people are clamoring for airports and the
Transportation Security Administration to make airport screening
procedures less burdensome, the disappearance of a Malaysia Airlines
flight has at least temporarily altered the conversation. While much is
unknown about the flight, investigators have confirmed that at least two
people boarded the plane using stolen passports. The Chicago Tribune
editorial board wrote “there is no obvious reason why carriers shouldn't
take the trouble to verify the identity of every person they transport.
“

Conservatives flocked to the annual Conservative Political Action Conference over the weekend. In recent years the event has helped define the Republican Party, often in a way that pushed the party to far right to win national elections. Ed Rogers of The Washington Post’s PostPartisan blog outlines some of the ways this conference was different and what that may or may not mean for the Republican Party. In fact, in an indication that at least some conservatives now see CPAC as too mainstream, the Breitbart News Network hosted an alternative event. This same dynamic played out at two Republican events in Oregon. More on that below. William Saletan of Slate looks at how the Republican divide plays out on foreign-policy issues, which were a focus of the Breitbart event.

The Los Angeles Times editorial board writes that a "proposal taking shape in City Hall to raise hotel workers' wages to
$15.37 an hour in Los Angeles is not the right way to go about" addressing income inequality. The Times said solutions should address all workers, not just those who have a union that did a particularly good job lobbying City Hall and that minimum wages are best-addressed at the state or national level.

Opinion from The Oregonian

As mentioned above, Oregon Republicans had dueling conferences over the weekend. The Oregonian editorial board sees moderate stances taken by the well-established Dorchester Conference as a positive move for the party.

By agreeing to continue to serve Portland, Hanjin Shipping Co. put pressure on the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and ICTSI Inc. to improve their relationship. Vote in an Oregonian online poll on who you think is most responsible for the problems at the Port.